Insulating textile fabric composites are well known to the art and are composed, generally, of combinations of textile fabrics, insulating battings, and, often, impervious vapor barrier films, which films may be optionally metalized, e.g., with vapor deposition of aluminum, to provide a reflecting surface. Such insulating composites are designed for use in the interior of the building and are usually disposed next to a pane of glass. With proper disposition of such composites, the heat transfer through such a glass paned window can be significantly reduced and thereby provide a reduced energy consumption of the building, both in the winter from heat loss and in the summer from heat gain through the glass paned windows.
A typical example of such a composite is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,397,346, the disclosure of which patent is incorporated herein by reference. In that patent, there is disclosed an insulating fabric composite useful for deployment next to a glass paned window (on the inside of that window) which can provide a R value of nearly 3, depending upon the choices of fabrics, batts and films. That composite is composed of multiple layers. A typical embodiment has a first layer (next to the glass paned window) that is a light and mildew resistant fabric, optionally foam backed. The second layer is a lightweight needled insulating batt. The third layer is a vapor barrier composed of a polymeric film, optionally metalized. The fourth layer is a needle punched dead air trapping layer of textile fibes, optionally including a metalized polymeric film within the needle punched layer and a fifth optional layer is a decorative cover fabric. It will be appreciated that with this combination, the first layer provides resistant to light and mildew to the composite, so as to protect the composite therefrom. The second layer, being a needled fiber batt, provides the essential insulating layer, and the polymeric film next thereto provides a vapor barrier to reduce transfer of vapor through the composite, and especially into the insulating batt. The aluminized surface or surfaces of the polymeric film provides a reflective surface or surfaces for reflecting light passing through the composite, and, hence, increases the overall resistance to heat transfer. Finally, the fourth layer is for additional insulation.
While composites of the foregoing nature have provided substantial window insulation for home and building use, these composites are designed for, and can only be used for, deployment next to the inside surface of the glass pane of a window or of a building wall. These composites do not provide any resistance to ambient weather, and, hence, would quickly lose their insulating value if subjected to ordinary weather, e.g., especially rain, sleet and the like.
Some efforts have been made to provide window covers for animal holding pins, e.g., plastic films and plastic coated fabrics. These pins are normally constructed with a substantial number of open windows, which windows are normally constructed with only screening for insect exclusion. Such large numbers of open windows are necessary, since the body heat of the animals during the summer period would raise the temperature of the pins to unacceptably high levels without substantial ventilation through the opened windows. Such window coverings have also been made of wood (or other material), usually in the form of shutters, but this expedient is not really satisfactory, since those shutters severely restrict sunlight and are not normally constructed with the accuracy required to eliminate substantial air leakage.
Efforts have also been made to use conventional textile composites, e.g., combinations of fabrics and insulating batts for insulating the window openings of such animal pins. However, it has been found that such composites lose substantial amounts of the insulating value when exposed to wet conditions, e.g., rain, snow and ice. Therefore, those conventional composites, have not proved to be satisfactory in use.
It should be appreciated, however, that there is a considerable economic incentive for providing adequate insulating covers for such animal pin windows, since the temperature within the animal pin is quite critical. For example, if the temperature in a conventional hog holding pin drops below about 55 degrees Fahrenheit, the food consumption of the hogs goes mainly for maintaining body heat and the hogs experience very little weight gain. On the other hand, if the temperature in a hog holding pin exceeds about 80 to 85 degree Fahrenheit, hogs experience low weight gains. As another example, in chicken holding pins, if the temperature drops below about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, again, a significant portion of the food consumed by the chickens is used in maintaining body heat and the weight gain of the chickens decreases. Animal husbanders refer to this phenomenon as the feed-to-weight ratio and for economic reasons, the feed-to-weight ratio should be as low as possible, since a major cost in producing the animals is the cost of the feed consumed by the animals.
The temperature in such pins may be maintained by fueled heating means, such as gas-fired forced air heaters, as opposed to the temperature being maintained by the body heat of the animals, but the cost of the fuel for such heaters is a direct cost in the animal production, much as the cost of the feed. Therefore, animal husbanders attempt to use as little fuel in maintaining the pin temperatures as possible and rely on the body heat of the animals to the extent possible.
For the foregoing reasons, it is important for these opened windows to be insulated in the winter, for conserving the body heat of the animals and any fueled heat added to the pins, but yet be capable of being fully opened in the summer to maintain maximum air flow through the pins for cooling and ventilation purposes.